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When did small phones become crappy phones?

Um apple is the heard. Also that rumor for the s4 was shot down. I like the route that HTC went with the new windows phone releasing two versions, and one larger then the other. For me the iphone has always been too small and uncomfortable but for others it's perfect. Bigger isn't better but I wish they would meet in the middle
 
Rogifan said:
Smaller phones shouldn't have to be inferior. I'm glad Apple isn't following the herd on this. Rumor has it the Galaxy S4 will be sporting a 5" display. At what point do people say stop!?
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Why is it when it comes to someone justifying the size of the iPhone then they are incapable of acknowledging there are sizes in between a speedboat and a yacht? Just because a 5" Android phone will exist doesnt mean the manufacturers are getting out of control with their sizes, they are simply experimenting with different models to see what sticks. And for the most part, the trend of phones from 4.3-4.8" has been widely accepted. So theres no need to rally people to say "stop" when they are happy with having options rather than a single size dictated to them.

BTW. As much as people claim 3.5" was perfect and now 4" 16:9 is equally as perfect, IF we were given a size option on the Apple side then it likely wouldnt be a flop because a sizable portion of iPhone users are picking their phone based on the OS they prefer and "settling" for the hardware size that it comes on.
 
appswipe said:
Why is it when it comes to someone justifying the size of the iPhone then they are incapable of acknowledging there are sizes in between a speedboat and a yacht? Just because a 5" Android phone will exist doesnt mean the manufacturers are getting out of control with their sizes, they are simply experimenting with different models to see what sticks. And for the most part, the trend of phones from 4.3-4.8" has been widely accepted. So theres no need to rally people to say "stop" when they are happy with having options rather than a single size dictated to them.

BTW. As much as people claim 3.5" was perfect and now 4" 16:9 is equally as perfect, IF we were given a size option on the Apple side then it likely wouldnt be a flop because a sizable portion of iPhone users are picking their phone based on the OS they prefer and "settling" for the hardware size that it comes on.
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I'm not claiming 4" is perfect but it seems Android and WP8 OEM's have decided bigger is better and the bigger phones get the better specs. Just because a phone is smaller doesn't mean it should be inferior.

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bigjim83 said:
Um apple is the heard. Also that rumor for the s4 was shot down. I like the route that HTC went with the new windows phone releasing two versions, and one larger then the other. For me the iphone has always been too small and uncomfortable but for others it's perfect. Bigger isn't better but I wish they would meet in the middle
Click to expand...

Apple's not the herd when it comes to screen size.
 
I had the galaxy S3 and it was great. I'm not sure I'd want a phone larger than that. Don't really like gizmodo but not a bad article.
 
Rogifan said:
I'm not claiming 4" is perfect but it seems Android and WP8 OEM's have decided bigger is better and the bigger phones get the better specs. Just because a phone is smaller doesn't mean it should be inferior.
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When it comes to smartphones, smaller tends to be worse due to what theyre used for. Browsing, email, gaming, videos, reading all tend to work and feel better on a larger screen. Now, debating over which size is best it difficult because everyone is different but I do think a 3.5" screen is on the low end of uesability (just my opinion). I was able to play around with the S3 and loved the screen and thought the size was good. Others may disagree.

As far as OEM's deciding that bigger is better, I think consumers are deciding bigger is better. Those phones sell well and people seem to like them. You cant fault them for going larger to see where the ceiling is.
 
My current phone (not a smart phone) is smaller than an iPhone. It is a flip phone and I chose it specifically for its small size. Obviously, not being a smart phone, I don't do things on it that a smart phone user would do but I have a touch and never had a problem with its size.

If Apple offered a 3.5" and a 4.5", I'd definitely choose the 3.5" over the 4.5". I like smaller phones and don't need s big screen. So I wouldn't say that the hardware is inferior just because it is small. Gizmodo was just pointing out that manufacturers don't seem to be putting higher end specs in their smaller phones when they should.
 
SlyMac said:
As far as OEM's deciding that bigger is better, I think consumers are deciding bigger is better. Those phones sell well and people seem to like them. You cant fault them for going larger to see where the ceiling is.
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But consumers aren't really getting to make the choice that bigger is better. Because OEM's are putting their better specs in bigger phones. That's the point of the Gizmodo article.

The Windows/Android model right now seems to be "you can get a 4.5" phone with awesome specs, or you can get a smaller phone with worse specs." What kind of choice is that? What if I want the smaller phone but want it to perform as well as flagship phone? While I'm sure there are a good handful of people out there who are picking their phone based solely on screen size, there's also a lot of people who are getting scared off the smaller screen phones because they won't perform as well.

And I'm not buying the "more performance requires more space so bigger phones" argument. Apple just proved that you can up your specs and end up going smaller. Yes, there comes a point where you can't go smaller, but I don't see why I can't get Galaxy S III performance in a 4" or 4.3" phone.

Consumers aren't saying "bigger screen is better." They're saying "better phone is better." Nothing more.
 
I have the Gs3 and I ordered the iPhone 5. The Gs3 is a heck of a phone, but yes, it can become cumbersome.
 
I think most of the replies on this thread are missing the point of the article and the OP.

This isn't a debate about what screen size is best. The question is why do manufacturers keep releasing flagship phones with the best specs in larger screen sizes, while putting poorer components in smaller devices?

Basically, if you want an Android or Windows phone in a smaller form factor you are forced to give up something in terms of processor speed, screen quality, or memory.

The obvious reason would be that for any given system, you can simply put more battery into a larger phone, allowing more powerful processors with the same battery life. Not sure how the power draw of a larger screen mitigates this.
 
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